Church Music

One of the consequences of the deserved success of the As One Voice Collections in Australia is missing out on good songs that were written after they were collected. With songs available electronically now at As One Voice that will become less of an issue, but I have been trying to find resources to bridge the gap from the 90s to now. For OCP songs I have used the Guitar Accompaniment Book c2005 and their yearly updates for Breaking Bread but that leaves a gap. I do have a Breaking Bread from 2012 that might have some missing songs, but I will take a few selections from Never Too Young, a Spirit and Song hymnal intended for youth applications, to look for songs that might have been in As One Voice Volume 3 – if that existed. (OK, As One Voice: Next Generation did cover some of this era, but their justified emphasis on Australian compositions left little room for all the OCP material.)

This is a Sarah Hart song from 2006 that is new to me. I suspect it is for a youth choir and has an a cappella bridge with two vocal lines. The chorus and bridge are highly syncopated. The structure is verse/chorus/verse/chorus/chorus/ bridge/final chorus.

There is really nothing here that couldn’t be used by adults.

OCP still sell this hymnal, but don’t sell this song as a single sheet. The text is here (…you’ll have to scroll down a fair way.)

My backing includes both lines of the bridge section:

This is the last song from the section, “God Coming Among Us,” in Heaven Shall Not Wait, available from Wild Goose. They fit Advent and Christmas so it has been a good time to look at them.

This is a joyful but realistic carol of the call to live in God’s reign. The tune DIFFERENT SONG is by John Bell and the text by the Iona Community, which means Graham Maule and John Bell in essence.

The sheet music can be purchased individually at GIA, where the text is in their preview.

The Christmas and Advent songs from this Iona Community collection are sometimes spoiling for a fight. This is a new text for “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” that does that, but will need further editing as some of the topical references are specific to Glasgow or 1987.

The text is in this liturgy from 2007, where they updated the lyrics to their time and place. In verse five, the original refers to “Possilpark” an area notorious for drug use in Glasgow at the time. This version changes that to “Queens Park” and you need to find a local reference to a “doubly dark” place if you want to use this.

The third verse was originally:

Where Nicaragua’s people long for justice which is true;

Where Ethiopia’s children cry for food which is their due;

Where white South Africa declares apartheid comes from you:

This update (2007) reads:

Where Colombia’s people cry for justice which is true.
Where Iraq’s hungry children cry for food which is their due
Where North Americans declare “Our wealth has come from you”.

For 2021 how about:

Where Covid vaccinations are reserved for those who pay.

Where refugees can drown but we can fill up Santa’s sleigh.

And those in power hope climate change will simply go away.

I just noted the second verse in the clip below from last year touched on similar ideas to mine.

This is a typically convicting text for a Christmas carol by Graham Maule and John Bell, with a tune by John Bell. This song asks the question, “How much do you want to unsettle your Christmas crowd?”

It is in the book Heaven Shall Not Wait available at Wild Goose.

1 Had the Son of God been born in a place where kings are found,

We would have an easier faith built on more attractive ground:

Jesus jilted human fable by appearing in a stable.

Deo Gratius, Deo Gratius, Deo Gratius.

2 Had the Son of God divorced prayers from poverty and power,

We would have an easier faith vacuumed in a hallowed hour:

Angels called for peace on earth consequent to Jesus’ birth.

Deo Gratius, Deo Gratius, Deo Gratius.

3 Had the Son of God been met without hindrance or alarm,

We would have an easier faith cossetted from those who harm:

Herod, cruel and unimpressed, made heaven’s child forgo earth’s rest.

Deo Gratius, Deo Gratius, Deo Gratius.

4 Had the Son of God conformed to the pattern we would choose,

All that leads to faith and love, love would lack and faith would lose:

God, undressed and laid in hay, contradicts our will and way.

Deo Gratius, Deo Gratius, Deo Gratius.

Words and Music © 1987 WGRG, Iona Community, Glasgow G2 3DH, Scotland

This is a rewrite of “Once in Royal David City”. I don’t think I would risk it but you may be made of sterner stuff. I worry that Christmas carol parodies are an accepted bad taste trope that might warp this song’s reception.

You can purchase Heaven Shall Not Wait at Wild Goose.

The text is in this bulletin. This post describes a mixed response to its use.

Since there are no videos of this song I will substitute the genius of Stan Freberg.

I am looking at the songs of “God, Coming Among Us” from Heaven Shall Not Wait. These are Advent and Christmas songs that have John Bell and Graham Maule’s unsettling approach to songwriting in abundance. That is a good thing by the way. I can skip “The Aye Carol” as I covered that in Gather 3rd ed.

You can buy the whole collection from Wild Goose.

This is a Christmas song set to WAE’S ME FOR PRINCE CHARLIE (Scottish Traditional). The tune is a splendid choice and the text challenging as always. The tune being PD, is available on the net.

The text and a MIDI backing can be found here.

I made my own backing on BIAB.

This is another Carol for those looking for something different. It is from the Heaven Shall Not Wait book available from Wild Goose.

CPDL says:

Hodie Christus natus est (English Today Christ is born) is the Antiphon to the Magnificat, sung on the vespers on Christmas Day.

Bell takes that and adds his own lyrics.

It is described as a choral piece but may invite participation in the refrain. The verses switch from 4/4 to 6/8 to liven things up.

Chorus: Hodie, hodie, Christus natus est.

Hodie, hodie, Christus natus est.

1 Gloria in excelsus: pax in terra.

Gloria in excelsus: pax in terra.

2 Wanted and unwanted, spoken and unsaid,

Christ, the Word incarnate, finds, near us, his bed.

3 Spotlights, crowds and fanfares miss this tiny guest;

Those who few would welcome at his birth are blessed.

4 Though he lives in danger, cause of Herod’s plight,

Love surrounds the manger: nothing shades his light.

5 Centuries thereafter Christ still comes again;

Comes with threat and promise now as much as then.

Words and Music © 1987 WGRG, Iona Community, Glasgow G2 3DH, Scotland

Continuing with Advent and Christmas sings from the Iona Community’s book “Heaven Shall Not Wait”, there is this Christmas carol. It is a call and response carol that might find a place in a Christmas concert. The tune is NATIVITY by John Bell.

The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology notes of “Carol of the Epiphany”:

It may be seen as completing a trilogy of hymns that provide insightful socio-political commentary on the Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany cycle: Carol of the Advent (‘From a woman and a weary nation’) The Carol of the Nativity (‘A pregnant girl none will ignore’) Carol of the Epiphany (‘I sought him dressed in finest clothes’).

I’ve seen it set to O WALY WALY, which I don’t think that is a merry carol.

The songbook is available at Wild Goose.

A pregnant girl none will ignore:
Her husband knocks at guesthouse door.
Who is the girl? Why knock the door?
Thus starts a tale of which there’s more.
 
The door slams shut; they’re left to find
cold comfort in a barn behind.
Why slam the door? Why stay behind?
“We’re wanted out of sight and mind.”
 
Some shepherds dance, some angels sing,
some child is born – no special thing
Why do you dance? Why do you sing?
“To celebrate the birth of our King.”

King Herod in his palace hears
the news which rouses hate and fears.
Why hate the news? Why rouse your fears?
“No child shall take my place, my dears.”

Three wise men watch and follow a star;
They’ve journeyed long, they’ve come so far.
Why do you watch? Why come so far?
“To celebrate whose servants we are.”

A child is born, a Son is given:
He sleeps on earth who rules in heaven,
Who is this Child? Where is this heaven?
Both come alive where love is given.

Words and Music © 1987 WGRG, Iona Community, Glasgow G2 3DH, Scotland

Entrance:  Emmanuel (Angrisano)

Gifts: The Magnificat (Kearney) AOV 1/52

Communion: Bread Broken, Wine Shared Bread  (Horner) AOV 2/155

Thanksgiving: Christ Circle Round Us (Schutte)

Recessional: Praise To You O Christ (Farrell) AOV 1/28

Entrance:  O Emmanuel (Mangan)

Gifts: Like a Candle (O’Brien/Ogilvie) AOV NG 91

Communion: Table of Plenty (Schutte) AOV 2/20

Thanksgiving: Christ Circle Round Us (Schutte)

Recessional: Sing Out Earth and Skies (Haugen) AOV 2/32